Soldano RFX-1000

The RFX-1000 is extremely easy to use and extremely easy to get the sound that you are looking for. The unit consists of 6 knobs and 1 switch - with an LED meter to manage clipping.

The knobs are labeled as follows: Input, Output, Mix. These are self explanetory. Reverb time, which is really an effect depth button. Reverb Character, which is really effect sub category selector and effect type. The switch will allow you to select if you want to control effects, reverbs or mix down options.

Given the simplicity of the controls, it is easy to edit the sound of the patch, but you don't have controls over all the characteristics. For example, in a reverb, you can't select the delay time, repeat time, early reflection time... all the tweekable items to get a unique sound. You HAVE to stay in the confines of the parameters that they have given you. Although they have all the bread and butter styles, it would be nice to make some additional mods. After all, I purchased this unit to replace the Alesis Wedge and Alesis NanoCompressor with one unit. It appears as though I will still have to use both of these units with the RFX-1000. I could never get the super-syrupy choruses that the Wedge can provide.

The manual is phenominal. It is small concise and to the point.

I give this unit an 8 because the switchable items cannot be stacked... You cannot select a reverb, a compressor limiter setting and a mix down item to get a custom sound. Each is mutually exclusive.

I use this unit to record to my VS Studio and for mixdown to CD. I use this with a Peavy Mixer, Yamaha MS202 Studio Monitors, a Phillips CD Burner primarily. I use the mix down options of this unit to add a little warmth punch/brightness to my CD burner on mix down and to resample tracks with the right amount of effects. (I prefer outboard effects than using the built in effects of the Roland V-Studio.)

This unit adds very little noise, and if there are any effects that add noise, youcan get around it by increasing the level from your mixer and decreasing the input level/output level of the RFX-1000 and managing the levels from the mixer.

I will talk about the effects in the confines of the seitchable groups that they belong to:

Reverbs: Hall, Room, Plate, Vocal, Ambiance, Dimension, Percusion, Ensemble, Power, Gate, Reverse and Reverb all sound the way they are supposed to sound. They do not tint the sound with an over digital or metallic sound.

Effects: Compressor, Limitor, Delay, Pitch, Chorus, Flanger, Phaser, Trim-Pan, Delay-Reverb, Chorus-Reverb, Delay/Reverb, Flange/Reverb are all good except you cannot couple things that are not in their set of presets.

Mixdown: Power Mix, Wide Mix, Boost Mix, Vocal Mix, Mic Simulator, Cabinet Simulator, Rotary, Ring Modulation, Resonance, Lo-Fi Mix and Vocoder all are authentic. I was going to purchase a stereo tube mic for mix down and have rethought that purchase using the mix down effects of this unit.

This is a 1 rack space unitwith heavy duty plastic knobs and switches. The power supply is the round cheap kind and not the three pronged heavy duty easily exchangeable power chord that you would expect...

The transformer for the power plug is in the middle of the cable so there is no boat-anchor to connect to you power strip. Even so, in my rack I would use a power conditioner live.

Have not had to contact customer support.

I usually play acoustic guitar with vocals and some lead guitar accompanied by a drum machine. This unit is a good match for when I record or perform solo.

If this unit were stolen, I would probably replace it, but would consider replacing it with the Zoom RFX-2000.

I really like its multiple effects in one unit - mix down effects, ring modulations, reverbs, compressors, limitors...

I dislike the fact that you cannot mix all the these things together - take a reverb that you like, add compression to it, then boost it with the mix down effect.